Recording device



Feb. 15, 14933. y

E. E. TURNER. JR 2,108,089

v RECORDING DEVICE Fild sein. 4, 1931 ssheetsheet 1 y y 4 Per Feb. 15, 1938. E. E. TURNER, JR 2,108,089

RECORDING DEVICE Filed'sept. 4, '19:51 3 sheets-sheety 2 Feb. 15, 1938. E. TURNER. JR

RECORDING DEVICE Filed Sept. 4, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 OFF lavzzen maV I 72 Ve rz or dw/7l E.' 7?/r7zer Per Patented Feb. 15, 1938 aiacss A Edwin E. Turner, Jr., West xbury, ss., signor toSube Signal empany, Boston,

Mass., a corporation of Maine Application september a resi, sensi No. sertie 3 Cla.

The present invention relates to a system` for recording the receipt of signals, and more partie ularly, to such a system which may be used for measuring short time intervals or distances, as

5 in determining heightsA of aircraft from the ground or the depth of water beneath a vessel by the use of the so-called time of travel method.

In the use ofaa recording deviceor nding depths and distances, in water or in air, a sig- ,io nai is sent out and the time interval between the transmission or the signal and the receipt of the reflected echo from the object whose distance is to he measured is recorded.

Most recording systems either'employ means for producing an electrical discharge through a recording paper or providing a stylus, which makes a continuous mark upon a recording paper and which, at the moment of the receipt of the signal indicating the measurement of the time interval or distance, produces a serration.

These systems while operative are sometimes quite sluggish and do not produce accurate rec ords. Besides this, the device for producing the continuous-mark is apt to be rather large and 2'5 clumsy, and cannot easily be rotated or moved.

Such is the diiiculty with the galvonometer type of recorder which has been used at times for this work. The diiculty with discharging a spark through a paper is that the spark cannot easily be controlled, and there is a tendency for the sparkl to jump through thepaper atv the same. place for a considerable time until that spot is so far away from the electrodes that it is easier lto jump through a new spot1 .The re- 35, cording by means of a. discharge produces, therefore, a somewhat irregular chart or recording line. i

A moistened paper has also been used for re= cording purposes, but this is inconvenient for the 40 yaverage person to handle as the paper must he properly moistened and if moistened teo much may tear as the stylus moves over it.

In the device disclosed in the present applica tion, instead ci. marking the paper continuously, 5 as is usually done, a recording magnet is provided which, normally, continually has its armature retracted from the paper and which, at the moment of receipt of the signal, is released so that the armature may move to mark the 50 paper. In this Way only a small niark is produced on the paper when the signal is received. net is The electromagnet o the recording mi preferably placed'in the plate circuit of a ther-x mionic tube and the plate current of the tuhe is 55 normally usedto hold the armature ci the mag (Ci. 23d- 72) Vnet in a position away from the paper against the tension of a spring.

` The recording magnet is continually rotated over the .surface of the paperbut the stylus on the armature is so adjusted that it just does not 5 touch the surface of the paper. When a signal is received, and the armature momentarily released, the stylus produces a mark on the surface of the paper. Upon the establishing of the plate current the armature is again retracted 10 rom'the paper and, in this fashion, a short mark is produced as the recording armature travels over the surface of the paper.

The paper is preferably a Wax paper, having a base coloring dierent from the coloring of the 15 war.v so that when the Wax is removed by the marking of the stylus on it the color beneath will show.

Without describing further details ofthe system, an embodiment of the invention will be de- 20 scribed in connection with the drawings illustrating the same, in which:

Figure i shows a iront View of the recording device;

Figure 2 shows a side view; l 25 Figure 3 shows a section; l

Figure e shows a detail of the paper driving machinery;

Figures 5, 6, and '7 show further details of the paper driving mechanism; 30

Figure 8 shows a detail of the means for producing the marit on the recording paper;

Figure 9 shows the electrical connections of the circuit, including the receiving elements; and

Figure i0 shows partly diagrammatically the 35 synchronization of the system for producing aA wave impulse at theproper position of lthe ren cording arm.

fis shown in Figure l. there are provided two side frames iv and 2 which are held together by 40 a rod 2i to which the frames are screwed and by a top' piece E screwed to the frames i and 2 in the inwardly extending flanges t. Upon the top plate 5 is mounted a gear box i which has a shaft d extending through the right side wall, as seen in Figure i.

This shaft t, which is the prime driving sha for the `whole mechanism, is coupledby means oi the coupling 9 to a driving motor which, in depth sounding or distance measurement, is so driven that the sound or energy impulse is given out when the indicator oi the recorder is at zero. This mechanism is shown in Figure 10. The recording arm i5 may be continuously rotated by means of the motor ist driving the shaft 8.

At a position of the arm I5 at one side of the recording paper at which the scale markings on the paper begin and which, therefore, may be called the zero position as measuring a zero depth,

a sound or other impulse may be emitted by the transmitter |60. The circuit |59 is at this point closed by completing an electrical contact between the contact elements |56 and |51 mounted on the switch block |58, thus applying the power source |55 to the sound producer. If the sound producer |60 is of the impact type, the circuit may be arranged in such a manner that the impact element is released by the operation of the switch contacts. As indicated in Figure l the contacts |56 and |51 are closed through the projection |54 on the cam |53 which is driven through the gear box |52 through the shaft |5I of the motor |50. The paper 20, as indicated in Figure li), is fed so slowly that successiverecordings I6I on the paper by each cycle of the arm I produce a continuous contour indicating the depth. In the operation of the system shown in Figure l0 the sound is emitted at some positionV such as |62 which Vmay be, as is statedabove, the zero position on the recording paper. In the time that the arm I5 travels to the point where a record is produced the sound or other compressional wave will have travelled to its reecting surface and have returned, whereupon it affects the receiving system, shown in Figure 9, to operate the armature of the recording magnet 23. .This arrangement is in principle that shown in Figure 1 of my United States Patent No. 2,033,166, issued March 10, 1936, in which the driving motor is 35, the sound producer 46, the cam 43, the contacts 44 and 45, and the gear reduction system comprising the elements 3l, 38, 39, and 4U.

The sound impulse in soundings, when using an impact oscillator, is given out'periodically so that the recording device will read directly.

If desired, the recording device itself may be provided with the proper cams as shown in the United States Patent No. 2,033,l60, mentioned above, to control the operation of the impact oscillator but it is more usual to use a recording device and a visual indicating device together and to let one contrci the operation of the sounding mechanism forV both measuring devices. The shaft 3 in the box 'i drives a Worm I5, shown insection in Figure 3, and the Worm drives a gearv il which rotates the shaft i2 mounted on the bearings i3 and it in the gear box.

.at the left end of the shaft i2, as shown in Figure 3, is attached an arm E5 having a counter weight i5 at its upper end, as indicated in Figure 3, and a recording element it at its lower end which will be described in detail later. The shaft i2 at the rear has pinned to it by a set screw i3 a cam i3 which controls and operates the entire feeding mechanism for operating the advance of the recording paper 2i? in the desired time.

The entire recording device is mounted in a casing, fragments of which are shown in Figures 2 and 3, as 22, 22 by means of the bolts 23, 263, 25, and 2t.

The motor speed driving the shaft 3 is such that the arm carrying the recording mechanism rotates about one revolution a second. This speed may be decreased if desired so that only twelve or twenty four records are made per minute.

The recording element is shown in detail in Figure 8 and comprises a ti shaped magnetic core' 2, made up of a group of U shaped laminations and pinned together by the pins 28, 28. About the core is Wound a coil 29 of sufficient impedance to match or nearly match the impedance of the electrical circuit operating it; that is to say, the coil 29 of the magnet is made to have the same electrical impedance as the rest of the circuit, as indicated in Figure 9, which includes the vacuum tube it? and the other elements of the circuit as measured from the points at which the coil is connected. At each end of the U shaped core are p1ates30 and 3|, the plate 30 forming a guard about the armature 32, and the plate v3| extending angularly and having a thin spring strip 33 riveted thereto. The armature 32 is riveted to this thin strip. The armarelease of the armature upon operation by the signal.

Normally the armature 32 is attracted to the poles since electric current is flowing in the plate circuit of tube lill, thus energizing the magnet 29 which holds the armature against the force of the spring 33. The armature is substantially positioned in a plane parallel to the plane of the recording paper at the point of recording, as shown in Figure 3; and, in fact, the armature is always in this same plane because of the motion of the arm i5 in a plane parallel to the plate 3 and because of the position of the armature 32 which is substantially parallel to the plate 3 Whether held in a retracted position or released.

The recording paper 2U which, as shown in Figure 1, is calibrated by the lines 38, may be calibrated in units of distance or depth for height or distance measurement. The recording paper is fed from a roll 39, mounted in bearings on both sides of the frames I and 2 so that the roll may be easily turned. One of the bearings is shown dotted at the left of Figure 1. The roll 39 has a slot 4|, at the end of its shaft 4U, into which slot the tongue of the shaft 42 fits as indicated in Figure 5. The shaft 42 sets in a sleeve Sin the frame the sleeve 43 being formed as a cap 44 at the end through which the end of the shaft 42 projects. The shaft 42 is taken down to a smaller diameter within the cap '14 and between the inner shoulder of the ylarger portion of the shaft andthe cap end is a spring 45 to force the shaft i2 to the left, as shown in Figure 5, against the shaft 40 of the roll 39. The shaft 42 is held in by the knurled knob d6 pinned to the end of the shaft beyond the cap. The bearing atthe left end of the roll, as seen in Figure 1, is adjustable so that the roll may be positioned laterally to make the paper 2li feed properly without uneven tension. The adjustment consists of a threaded shaft 6'! threading into the collar t3 iixed in the frame 2. The end of the shaft di has a small projecting cylindrical rod i9 on which the roll shaft 4U rotates.

The knob 53 on the end of the shaft 4l is turned until the holes 5|, 5i etc, are properly aligned over the projecting teeth 52 on the feeding roll 53.

in feeding the paper, the paper first comes from the roll 39, goes upward over the curved top 54 of the plate 3, which is adjustably mounted on the frames i and 2 by means of the bolts fl, which have on the further side of the plate 3 springs :35 pressing' the plate 3 outward against the bolt arcanes heads. From the bottom of the plate the paper goes over the` sprocket roll which supplies the power to pull the paper. The sprockets 52 mesh in the holes 5l of the paper and advance it. After passing over a portion oi the roll te, the paper comes between the roll 53 and the roll te which sets in a slot 5l in the pivoted arm ed, pirm oted to the frame and tensioned to hold the roll 56 against the roll et. After passing over about one-fourth of the roll 5E the paper proceeds downwards and is wound up on the roll The roll 59 moves in a slot t@ in the arm ti, pivoted at 62 to the frame i on the right. The arm is tensioned and held up by the spring 63. At the left the rollis adjustably held in the frame 2 by the screw threaded shaft 56, Figure 1, which has a. small projecting rod fitting in the end of the roll shaft t5. The roll shafts t5 and ill are the same and when the roll shaft d@ is empty it is transferred down to the bottom and a new roll supplied to the top.

The roll shaft 5S is driven by the same mechanism which pulls the paper but at a slightly greater surface speed than the paper is fed to keep a tension on the paper at all times.

, The feed of the paper will now be explained.

Idling on the cam i9 (Figures i and 3) is an idler 66, mounted on the arm el pivoted at 68 in the top frame 5. At the other end of the arm Gl is a pivoted link member' 99 extending downwards. The link S9 is pivoted at its lower end to the pivoted lever llt. The pivoted lever l@ carries at the free end a pawl li meshing in the toothed gear wheel 72. Every time the high part of the cam i9 raises the idler dit, it lowers the link 69 and raises the Ypawl 'it pulling up the toothed gear 12 one or more teeth.

When the pawl drops back the toothed gear remains as it was because of a friction element about to be explained.' i

Mounted on the frame I is a L! shaped bracket 13, shown in Figure 7. This U shaped bracket has holes at both sides through which the shaft 74 passes. At the left of the shaft le there is pinned a sleeve l5, having a shoulder it htting in the U shaped member. Exterior. of the U shaped bracket on the right side the tooth gear l2 is pinned to the shaft in the collar lli, which has a bearing surface on its left tace rubbing against the outer surface of the bracket because of the spring le which presses the shaft to the left. This friction makes it impossible for the toothed gear lf2 to follow back when the pawl drops.

Each time that the pawl is raised, the worm l@ at the end of the shaft is turned and through this the gear 30 meshing with it. The gear e@ turns the shaft 90' carrying the drum 53 and thereby moves the paper.

'Ihe gear til has its outer surface pressed against the fiat disc t2 which in turn is-pinned to the shaft ati 9i by means of a collar @it integral with the disc t2. The gear @il is tensioned in place by means o the spring disc et which is initially dished and then forced i'lat in assembly as the shoulder e5 oi the pulley wheel titi comes in measurement may be received on the receiver |00 where its energy is translated into electric energy on the lines lill. The receiver 000 may be a mi crophone or a magnetophone. In either case the sound energy from the water impinging upon the diaphragm of the receiver will set up mechanical vibrations which will generate or vary the current in the electric circuit which includes the transformer d20 whose secondary isl connected to the grid 405 to the tube E06. The receiver, if a. microphone, may be supplied with direct current from the battery E02 across which is a potentiometer E03. The received energy in the transformer i015 is impressed upon the grid l05 of the tube or valve H05 and by this means the tube |01 connected thereto brings about the operation of the electromagnetic recorder whose coil 29 is in the plate circuit of the tube 607.

The circuit for operating the coil 29 is the same as that used and described in my copending application Seriall No. 270,660, April 17, 1928, Patent No. 2,033,160, which also refers to my prior application Serial No. 220,719, filed September 20, 1927, issued as Patent No. 1,991,430. If both an indicator as a neon tube and the present device are to be oper-ated from this circuit, I use two tubes in place of the tube it?, connected in parallel to the first tube iut, and operate the recording device from one tube and the neon light from the other tube, keeping thereby the plate circuit of each tube separate.

Normally a plate current is iiowing in the plate circuit of the tube iti of suihcient value to hold the armature backwards against the tension of the spring. When the armature is released as the grid of the tube iil'i becomes negatively charged for an instant during the receipt of the signal the armature flies forward and makes a short stroke on the paper by removing the wax at that point. The armature is again retracted from the paper after the signal has passed, recovering somewhat slowly as explained in the copending application, above mentioned, now Patent No. 2,033,160 so that the point does not produce chattering and a series of dots on the paper. As itis usual to have an impulse of very short duration unless the proper precautions are'taken, the

magnet 2S may just about operate sufficiently to allow the marker to move towards the paper and retract it before an actual mark has been made, or at least before a mark of suiiicient length is made, to be properly recognized. In order to overcome this diiiiculty the size of the condenser ii and the resistance 822 is so regulated and chosen that while a sudden interruption o current flowing in the coil 29 occurs, the restoration of the full value of current to hold the armature in its retracted position will be somewhat delayed in taking place. This regulation is easily effected by proper choice of values of capacity in the condenser i2! and resistance in the element 522 so that the circuit will not recover its initial normal condition until some time after the impulse has occurred. This duration'of time is usually chosen as covering perhaps a time interval corresponding to three or :our fathoms in the measurement oi the depth.

The recording magnet is provided Ywith an air gap at all times even when retracted by means of the stop 9B so that the magnetic circuitv is not Worked at saturation and will collapse quickly.

In order to inform the operator when the paper is entirely used, in parallel with the coil 29, is placed an indicator w8 such as a buzzer, the circuit of which is closed when the contact arm |09 comes over a hole in the paper roll at the end thereof. At that time a contact is completed through the plate 3 and-the conductor lill and the buzzer operates continuouslyy or practically since the plate current ows except for the very short time of the signal receiptu Having now described my invention, I claim:

l. A device to be mounted at the end of a rotating arm of a recorder and adapted to move across a at plate bearing a recording sheet comprising a U-shaped magnet, a nat armature positioned substantially to span the pole elements of said magnet, said armature having means attached thereto and cooperating with meansattached to one side of the U-shaped magnet for yieldingly positioning the armature in said position, said armature having a stylus point positioned opposite the other side of the said U-shaped magnet.

said yieldlng'means exerting an outward force from scid net and means mounted on said magnet for retaining said armature in a limited outward position.

2, A device to be mounted at the end of a rotating arm for producing a record on a nat recording sheet across which the arm is to move comprising a magnet having two pole elements having parallel pole surfaces, an armature formed and positioned to span across said pole surfaces, spring means mounting said armature in position with a spring tension away from said pole pieces,

said mounting being attached at one side of one of said poleelements adjacent the pole surface of said pole element, means applied at the other end of said armature limiting the outward motion of said armature by the action of said spring, and a stylus point Vmounted on said armature directly over the other of the pole surfaces.

3. In a distance measuring system by the use o compressional waves, a marking means consist-u ing of an electromagnet and an armature having a marker thereon, amplifying means normally maintaining current in said electromagnet and capable of interrupting said current, means for L receiving-an impulse of compressional wave energy, means responsive to said last named means to cause said amplifying means to interrupt said current, and means operatively con nected to said amplifying means for controlling l the time of building up of the current after the interruption has occurred..

EDWIN E. TURNER, Je. 

